Harvesting, grading and marketing require at least as much
attention to detail as producing the crop in the first place. In order to
capitalise on all the care and attention that has gone into producing the crop
it is important to follow some simple guidelines.

Harvesting

The time from seed sowing or planting will depend on the
variety and to some extent its growing conditions. A general rule of thumb for
the varieties mentioned here is that harvesting starts approximately twelve
weeks from planting out.

Fruit must be harvested at the correct maturity stage. This
stage is when they are fully developed but still green and firm. If picked when
immature the outside waxy coating will not have formed and the fruit will soon
start to lose moisture and shrivel. The immature fruit are a lighter shade of
green which is a tell-tale sign of immaturity in the markets. This will lose
potential income resulting from lower market prices.

Time of harvesting

The ideal time of day to harvest is when it is cooler. Avoid
harvesting under wet conditions, wet fruit are more prone to post harvest
infections, especially after packing; they are also liable to become infected
with Bacterial soft rot. If fruit are wet it is preferable to spread them out to
dry in an airy place, but not in direct sunlight.

The ideal time to harvest is on the same day as shipping them
to market, otherwise it should be harvested the day before.

How to harvest

If the fruit on the plant are closely examined a distinct line
between the curved pedicel and the stem can be observed. Afruit is detached by
holding the pedicel between two fingers and carefully snapping it away from the
curve. This method ensures a clean break and also the part of the pedicel
remaining on the detached fruit forms a natural seal which reduces the chance of
post harvest diseases, entering the fruit.

FIGURE 35.Proper harvest practices

FIGURE 36.Weight of fruits

Grading

There are two main hot pepper grades: Grade A(grade 1) and
Grade B (grade 2). Grade Aincludes those of the highest quality while Grade B
includes those of reasonable quality. Grade Awill tolerate some degree of
bruising, about 5%, Grade B has a tolerance of 8%. Reject quality includes fruit
which are any of the following: undersized, bruised, split, broken, decayed,
insect infested, immature or overripe. Fruit with fungal moulds or rot are
unacceptable.

Grade A Bahamium Goat pepper (Figure 39) and Finger pepper
(Figure 40) will fetch the highest market prices. Ideal fruit of the Bahamian
Goat pepper have the following characters:

A classical shape, a pale orange, lantern shaped fruit.

Oblong fruit, a minimum of 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide.

Length of fruit stock not exceeding 1 1/4 inches (3 cm)

The pedicel should be green.

The skin should be free of blemishes such as spots, breaks, bruises, or
decay.

Dry soil splashes and dust should be brushed off during grading (see Figure
37).

The fruit should be firm and appear fresh. .

There should be no chemical residues on the fruit.

FIGURE 37.Sorting and grading fruits

FIGURE 38. Satisfactory packaging for hot pepper

Packing

The boxes, or
containers in which the fruit will be sent to market should be sufficiently
robust to withstand reasonable handling and transportation without damage to the
contents, as shown in Figure 38.

Do not use the black plastic
crates which are normally used for bananas because these containers absorb heat
and will cause spoilage of the produce.

Do not market in bags as they
offer no protection from damage or rough handling. Shallow, ventilated plastic
boxes are the most suitable containers.

Do not pack damaged or
diseased fruit otherwise there will be a high risk of rotting in
transit.

Do not over fill containers,
or under fill, otherwise the produce will either be squashed or damaged by
moving around during transport.

Handle containers with
care.

Avoid over stacking
containers.

Transporting

The packed
containers should not be left in the sun.

The containers are best
transported during the cooler part of the day.

Do not store peppers with
other ripening fruit such as mangoes, papayas or tomatoes as these give off
ethylene which will accelerate the peppers' ripening.

Finger peppers and Bahamian
Goat peppers will keep for two to three days at temperatures of approximately
75-78 degrees F (approximately 25-27 degrees C), after this time they will start
to shrivel and storage rots will set in. The fruit can last for up to ten days
at lower temperatures.